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*OCLC PICA acquires Fretwell-Downing Informatics Group: *
*Greater product range and an enhanced development, support and service
capacity*
Leiden/Sheffield, 3 November 2005 - *OCLC PICA B.V. (**Leiden**, The
**Netherlands**), the leading library systems and services provider in
**Europe**, announces it has acquired the Fretwell-Downing Informatics
Group (FDI - **Sheffield**, **UK**). As a result, both organisations
will strengthen and extend their system development and service
infrastructures. The new organisation will be able to offer the best
products and services to its customers, at controlled costs and more
rapidly.*
In the information management solutions market there has been a recent
trend of industry consolidation. A trend in which we too are taking
part, says Rein van Charldorp, managing director of OCLC PICA. Only by
enlarging the scale of our operations, can we make the resource
investments needed to stay ahead in the market. Achieving economies of
scale will ensure the continuity of our products for the benefit of our
customers and their business processes.
FDI will continue to trade under its own name. Both OCLC PICA and FDI
are committed to supporting the existing product ranges. The acquisition
enables both companies to make use of each others technology,
capabilities and skill sets. It means the new organisation can bring
stronger products to market more rapidly. Additionally, even better
support can be offered to customers by leveraging the potential of newly
acquired local knowledge and service organisations.
Moreover, customers increasing demand for an extended product portfolio
can now be better met. OCLC PICA has proved the success of this strategy
with the acquisition of Sisis Informationssysteme (Germany) in July of
this year, which has already resulted in a number of new customers being
attracted to the combined organisation.
Customers in the United Kingdom specifically benefit from this
development, says Robin Murray, managing director of Fretwell-Downing
Informatics (FDI). With the expertise and product range that OCLC PICA
brings to the FDI customers and the service infrastructure that FDI
offers, we will be able to further enhance the service level that they
are already accustomed to. FDI customers in the Benelux countries
benefit from the additional expertise and local service infrastructure
of OCLC PICA.
FDI has a long history of supplying leading-edge information management
solutions to over 250 organisations worldwide. FDI operates from its
offices in the UK with a US subsidiary in North America plus additional
offices in Australia and Europe. FDIs experience has resulted in a
suite of advanced digital library solutions including information
portals, library management, resource sharing, document delivery and
digital asset integration. The companys freedom by design philosophy is
underpinned by a strong software development team and a commitment to
interoperability and open standards. This enables FDI components to be
built into a total solution or integrated alongside existing
technologies. Read more about FDI at www.fdisolutions.com
<http://www.fdisolutions.com/> .
About OCLC PICA
OCLC PICA is the European library cooperative and offers an extensive
range of leading edge and high-tech products and services for both
library professionals and library end users. Thousands of patrons daily
use the OCLC PICA systems for automatic cataloguing, retrieval,
interlibrary loan and conservation. Thanks to those Library Management
Systems, Professional Solutions and Library User Services, for example
over 76 million books and websites can be found efficiently.
With its headquarters in Leiden, the Netherlands, a subsidiary in
Oberhaching (D) and regional offices in Birmingham (UK) and Paris (F),
OCLC PICA is active in the European, Southern African and Middle Eastern
markets on behalf of its shareholders OCLC Inc and Stichting Pica. OCLC
Online Computer Library Center Inc is a non-profit organization and
offers its services to 54,000 libraries in 96 countries and territories.
More information about OCLC PICA can be found at www.oclcpica.org
<http://www.oclcpica.org/>
-ends-
*For further **info**rmation, contact:*
Ralph Mnzenmayer
Manager Communications
OCLC PICA B.V.
Tel:+31 71 524 65 00
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Ref: TA-281
________________________________
Catherine Dhanjal, MIPR
TheAnswer Ltd
PR & marketing for the academic, e-learning, e-gov and library sectors.
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